{ "slug": "damp-heat-lower-burner", "name": "Damp Heat in the Lower Burner", "pinyin": "Xia Jiao Shi Re", "chinese": "下焦湿热", "organ": "Bladder, Intestines, and the reproductive organs", "nature": "excess", "family": "dampness", "summary": "Hot, sticky, foul dampness that has settled in the lower body. Burning, urgent, frequent urination; yellow smelly discharge; genital itch or rash; diarrhea that burns; hemorrhoids that bleed; and a thick yellow greasy coat at the back of the tongue. Wet and hot at the bottom of the body.", "picture": "A swamp in summer. Warm, wet, and foul, breeding everything. Draining the water and cooling the heat dries the swamp.", "signs": { "key": [ "Burning, urgent, frequent urination", "Yellow, thick, smelly vaginal discharge", "Genital itch, rash, or swelling", "Diarrhea or dysentery that burns, with mucus", "A thick yellow greasy coat at the back of the tongue" ], "common": [ "Heavy legs", "Low back ache with heat", "Hemorrhoids that bleed", "Dark cloudy urine", "Thirst without wanting to drink much", "Low fever in the afternoon" ], "tongue": "Red with a thick yellow greasy coat, worst at the rear.", "pulse": "Slippery and rapid." }, "causes": [ "Greasy, sweet, spicy food and alcohol", "Hot humid climates", "Infections that lodged in the lower body", "Spleen dampness that sank and heated", "Sitting in damp or wet clothing" ], "tell_apart": [ { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "how": "Empty heat has scanty urine without the burning urgency, a peeled tongue, and night sweats. Damp heat is urgent, foul, and greasy-coated." }, { "slug": "liver-gallbladder-damp-heat", "how": "When the damp heat sits in the Liver channel, the genitals, the flanks, and the eyes join in, and the formula aims at the Liver." } ], "formulas": [ { "slug": "ba-zheng-san", "role": "primary", "when": "Burning urgent urination and bladder infection. Drains damp heat from the bladder.", "pinyin": "Ba Zheng San", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/ba-zheng-san", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/ba-zheng-san" } }, { "slug": "long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "role": "with Liver signs", "when": "Genital itch, discharge, or a hot rash with a bitter mouth and irritability.", "pinyin": "Long Dan Xie Gan Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/long-dan-xie-gan-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/long-dan-xie-gan-tang" } }, { "slug": "huang-lian-jie-du-tang", "role": "with fire above", "when": "Damp heat below and fire above at the same time.", "pinyin": "Huang Lian Jie Du Tang", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/huang-lian-jie-du-tang", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/huang-lian-jie-du-tang" } } ], "herbs": [ { "pinyin": "Huang Bai", "role": "Phellodendron clears damp heat from the lower body.", "herb_slug": "phellodendron-bark", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/phellodendron-bark", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/phellodendron-bark" } }, { "pinyin": "Che Qian Zi", "role": "Plantain seed drains damp heat through the urine.", "herb_slug": "seed-of-asiatic-pantain", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/seed-of-asiatic-pantain", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/seed-of-asiatic-pantain" } }, { "pinyin": "Hua Shi", "role": "Talc clears heat and promotes urination.", "herb_slug": "talc", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/talc", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/talc" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Zi", "role": "Gardenia clears heat and drains it through the urine.", "herb_slug": "fruit-of-cape-jasmine-2", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fruit-of-cape-jasmine-2", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fruit-of-cape-jasmine-2" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Tou Weng", "role": "Pulsatilla for hot dysentery.", "herb_slug": "root-of-chinese-pulsatilla", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-chinese-pulsatilla", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-chinese-pulsatilla" } }, { "pinyin": "Ku Shen", "role": "Sophora root for genital itch and discharge.", "herb_slug": "root-of-lightyellow-sophora", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-lightyellow-sophora", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-lightyellow-sophora" } }, { "pinyin": "Yi Yi Ren", "role": "Job's tears leach damp.", "herb_slug": "seed-of-jobstears", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/seed-of-jobstears", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/seed-of-jobstears" } } ], "conditions": [ "urinary-tract-infection", "leukorrhea", "leucorrhea", "dysentery", "hemorrhoids", "pelvic-inflammatory-disease", "fungal-infection", "urolithiasis" ], "habits": [ "Cut sugar, alcohol, greasy and spicy food. They feed the swamp.", "Drink plain water through the day to flush the bladder.", "Mung beans, Job's tears, bitter melon, and cucumber.", "Loose cotton underwear; change out of damp clothes." ], "watch": [ "Burning and urgency ease within days.", "Discharge and itch settle within one to two weeks.", "The greasy yellow coat at the back of the tongue thins.", "A bladder infection with fever, back pain, or blood needs urgent attention, not a formula alone." ], "sources": [ { "title": "Maciocia, The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, 3rd edition", "note": "Damp heat in the lower burner." }, { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Ba Zheng San, Long Dan Xie Gan Tang." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/damp-heat-lower-burner", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/damp-heat-lower-burner", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/patterns" } }